Hello from Toronto, Canada!

[MissyZelma]

Hi all,

I'm a recent visitor to this forum, but encouraged by what is shared here, in particular about consuming less, all the diy info, the emphasis on the environment, and in building community.

I'm 48, aiming to retire by 53, and work currently for a not-for-profit in communications. I've already had several careers, and a major reason I don't want to be too concerned about an income in the near future- I get bored doing one thing for too long but love learning new things. I'm fortunate to be married to someone who has always practiced a bit of the renaissance person's lifestyle which makes it easier to find creative solutions for many things, including ecological home renos.

We have no debt except our ridiculous mortgage which we are working to pay off more quickly, and we are saving over 50% of our incomes currently, with room for improvement! Looking forward to learning more and to connecting with others.

[basuragomi]

What does an ecological home reno entail? Wool insulation? Green roof? Tearing up and planting over a driveway?

[MissyZelma]

Well, what we did this last year is pretty minor compared those. The latest is adding a natural vapor-barrier to our basement floor (it was concrete only), sealed the cracks, and added cork flooring. We created our own baseboards with simple ply and added a natural stain. We also made new porch steps from scrap wood we had around. Permaculture design is next for the backyard...
If you know of great resources for further education in this feel free to share.

[Married2aSwabian]

Hello MissyZelma - welcome! Just started a journal here about 6 months ago myself. It does help to keep on track and lots of good input from everyone.
We used to have a five acre farm and two of the best authors I know of for permaculture are Wendell Barry and Sepp Holzer:

https://www.amazon.com/Sepp-Holzers-Per ... 160358370X

Wendell Barry is a writer, poet, farmer and professor emeritus in Kentucky. The Unsettling of America is a great book, but more focused on big Ag politics and impact on farming (monoculture) than a how-to for the answer: permaculture.

[Cam]

Hello! Married2aSwabian gave you some good sources already, and I will add one more. The first book I read about permaculture was Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway, and I just loved it. It provides an excellent introduction to principles and tactics used in permaculture. For example I think my parents designed our herb spiral from the design in the book just this year, and everything flourished on it! We had all the herbs we could want for most of the summer. Best of luck on your journey.

[MissyZelma]

Thank you Married2aSwabian and Cam for your suggestions- appreciate it! I’m just working my way through Gaia’s Garden and it’s blowing my mind. Glad to know it was a good choice. And I’ve watched Sepp Holzer videos but I’ll check out his books and Wendell Barry’s.